Ben Roethlisberger made only one ill-timed throw, and it wasn't his fault -- a 30-yard interception return for touchdown to start the second half, in which Santonio Holmes ran the wrong route. Until then, he had made a number of big plays, throwing for 180 of his 276 yards in the first half and scoring on a 1-yard sneak. He also made a nice play on a 27-yard touchdown by Willie Parker.

Running backs B

Willie Parker had his best outing of the season, rushing for 93 yards on 25 carries and scoring on a 27-yard catch-and-run. He had 72 yards rushing in the first half, including a season-long 24-yarder on the first series. After that, Parker was held to 21 yards on 11 carries in the second half, though he had a 10-yard run to the Bengals' 4 that set up Roethlisberger's 1-yard score for a 20-9 lead.

Wide Receivers C

Rookie Mike Wallace finished with seven catches for 102 yards and ran by CB Johnathan Joseph on a 51-yard catch to set up a field goal. He also had a big catch on third-and-13 to keep alive a scoring drive. But Limas Sweed did it again, getting behind a defender and dropping what would have been a 34-yard touchdown. And Holmes ran the wrong way on Roethlisberger's interception return.

Offensive line B-

The first half was a clinic for the offensive line when the Steelers rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries and Roethlisberger had plenty of time to throw. What's more, DE Antwan Odom, who came in with a league-best seven sacks, was never a factor. But the running game disappeared in the second half -- 24 yards on 13 carries -- part of that was because TE David Johnson was out with a leg injury.

Defensive line C

The Steelers did a good job to disrupt Carson Palmer's passing lanes, deflecting four of his passes at the line -- two by DE Brett Keisel. And NT Casey Hampton had one of the two sacks. But, Cedric Benson rushed for 58 of his 76 yards in the second half, including a 23-yard touchdown run around the left side. The Bengals finished with 100 yards on 19 carries, but 21 came on a fake-punt run.

Linebackers C -

For the second game, the linebackers did not make enough plays to get off the field. James Farrior, who got caught outside on Benson's 23-yard TD, failed to cover RB Brian Leonard on the fourth-and-10 conversion that led to the winning score. OLB James Harrison got his first sack of the year and dropped Benson for a 2-yard loss to help stall a drive. But where is the outside pressure?

Defensive backs C

Carson Palmer completed only 7 of 16 passes for 81 yards in the first half, but he made the plays he needed in the fourth quarter to overcome a 20-9 deficit. He completed 11 of his final 16 passes and produced nine first downs on the two fourth-quarter scoring drives. CB Ike Taylor was near-heroic on the final drive, making three pass breakups -- two that could have been touchdowns.

Special teams C+

The Steelers wasted a 56-yard kick return by Stefan Logan to the Bengals' 40 after an interception return for TD. And they got snookered on a 21-yard run by safety Chris Crocker on a fake punt in the third quarter. But Jeff Reed converted two field goals after his Chicago disaster, Keyaron Fox had a big hit on kick coverage and Dan Sepulveda didn't have to punt until the fourth quarter.

Coaching D-

The game started to turn when coach Mike Tomlin decided against a punt and the Steelers were stopped on fourth-and-4 at the Bengals' 35 with 1:15 remaining, leading to a Bengals field goal. After having success with the run in the first half, the Steelers opened the second half with three passes, the last of which was returned for a touchdown. Just like that, the Bengals were interested again.
Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com.

Disagree...coaches ALWAYS get blamed for losses...the Steelers went into the half and adjusted. The Bengals clearly came out and adjusted in the 2nd half to stop the run so we made the adjustment to pass the ball more. There was nothing wrong with the plan, the PLAYERS FAILED TO EXECUTE IT!

It's lame and ignorant to blame the coaches for losses and credit the players for wins. The Steelers coaches devised a gameplan that would have won the game but the players failed to execute it. Period.

Edman

09-28-2009, 11:59 AM

The whole team get's an EF. For Epic Fail.

RoethlisBURGHer

09-28-2009, 11:59 AM

Disagree...coaches ALWAYS get blamed for losses...the Steelers went into the half and adjusted. The Bengals clearly came out and adjusted in the 2nd half to stop the run so we made the adjustment to pass the ball more. There was nothing wrong with the plan, the PLAYERS FAILED TO EXECUTE IT!

It's lame and ignorant to blame the coaches for losses and credit the players for wins. The Steelers coaches devised a gameplan that would have won the game but the players failed to execute it. Period.

Yeah that. But some people's heads are just to thick to understand this.

revefsreleets

09-28-2009, 12:11 PM

And, had we opted to keep throwing the ball late in the second half with an 11 point lead, we ran the risk of having quick 3 and out's, which the fans would have ALSO bitched about, or, worse yet, more picks or pick 6's.

No, it was the correct call. Run the ball. Play for filed position. Eat clock. Depend on your defense to NOT give up 14points in 9 minutes...

Steeldude

09-28-2009, 01:32 PM

Depend on your defense to NOT give up 14points in 9 minutes

or depend on your offense to score 14 points in 9 minutes.

the defense has bailed out the offense for years.

The Steelers coaches devised a gameplan that would have won the game but the players failed to execute it

it's your opinion the game-plan would have won. going for it on 4th and 4 was not a good call, IMO. did the players call for it? you are right, sweed failed to execute that simple catch. who put sweed out there? i think it's time to activate mcdonald and bench sweed until he can prove he is able to catch simple passes.

lebeau stated they allow the short stuff. well they let them go all the way down field with the short stuff just like they wanted. for the 2nd week in a row too. do i still have faith in lebeau and his defense? i most certainly do :smile:

the players and coaches lost this game. but if i was forced to choose who was more at fault i would say the players by a little.

eafratitpm3

09-28-2009, 01:39 PM

Did you say the Steelers went into the half and adjusted. What did they adjust to, not blitzing, not covering the underneath stuff (AGAIN), and not scoring. Well, if they adjusted to that it worked, lol.

steel striker

09-28-2009, 04:39 PM

Well look at all of those points our offense left out there in the first half. We should have had 28-0 at half.

Fire Haley

09-28-2009, 04:46 PM

Epic Fail.

http://i33.tinypic.com/2llyqgi.gif

GodofGridiron

09-28-2009, 04:51 PM

Well look at all of those points our offense left out there in the first half. We should have had 28-0 at half.

Say that again...cuz i dont think some folks get it....

AllD

09-28-2009, 05:50 PM

http://i33.tinypic.com/2llyqgi.gif

That Sweed clip is making me sick.

stillers4me

09-28-2009, 06:10 PM

Well look at all of those points our offense left out there in the first half. We should have had 28-0 at half.

ding ding ding! I'm having a field day with the bell this afternoon!

Last year the D bailed us out when we couldn't finish and for some reason that I fail to undserstand yet, our D is still in Latrobe. We MUST be able to put these points on the board, and would someone please drive the bus St. Vincent's and pick up our beloved defense? I swear someone dressed up the Hienz Field janitors to fill in for them.

revefsreleets

09-29-2009, 04:34 PM

or depend on your offense to score 14 points in 9 minutes.

the defense has bailed out the offense for years.

it's your opinion the game-plan would have won. going for it on 4th and 4 was not a good call, IMO. did the players call for it? you are right, sweed failed to execute that simple catch. who put sweed out there? i think it's time to activate mcdonald and bench sweed until he can prove he is able to catch simple passes.

lebeau stated they allow the short stuff. well they let them go all the way down field with the short stuff just like they wanted. for the 2nd week in a row too. do i still have faith in lebeau and his defense? i most certainly do :smile:

the players and coaches lost this game. but if i was forced to choose who was more at fault i would say the players by a little.

Bend don't break. Force the opposition to play flawless offense (giving up the short stuff).

4th and 4 WAS a good call (and a situational call like that has nothing to do with the overall gameplan...the coaches gameplan SHOULD have wiped the Bengals off the map)...Tomlin was trying to break their spine. Had that play worked, you along with every other nattering nabob of negativism would have simply skipped over the call and focused on other negatives to brood about.

I LOVE the newish argument that the coaches are still responsible for the players on the field. Duh. Sweed is still going to play. He'll drop more balls. It's the nature of the beast. If it was up to me it'd be Hines #1, Santo #2 (slipping though), Wallace #3 and McDonald #4.

It's fine to be negative...in fact, it's almost your trademark. Whatever...FACT is the players lost this game. The coaches called a great game.